Gay Muslim’s family jailed for ‘honour’ attack on lover

‘You messed with the wrong Muslims’: Sarah-Jane Harrison was dragged by the hair as her girlfriend’s family tried to kidnap her (Picture: Cavendish)

This picture shows three Muslim women attempting to kidnap and rob a lesbian who had been dating their sister.

In the CCTV footage, the group tries to bundle Sarah-Jane Harrison into a car as part of a desperate plan to save their family’s honour.

The 34-year-old was kicked in the stomach and punched in the face. The women told her ‘she had messed with the wrong Muslims’.

She was targeted because the trio’s sister, Nazma Ditta, had abandoned an arranged marriage to be with her.

Six of Miss Ditta’s relatives have been jailed for their role in the attack.

Later, Miss Harrison, who is still with Nazma, told police: ‘Anyone Asian who I don’t know could be associated with the people who attacked me. I have trouble sleeping.

‘I have to sell my house and move somewhere where Nazma’s family won’t find us.’

Suspicion that Miss Ditta was gay arose when her niece saw photos and messages on her mobile phone. The couple had met after working in a clothes store together.

The 27-year-old, from Blackburn, was forbidden from sleeping at friends’ houses afterwards.

But as the date of her arranged marriage drew nearer, she was slowly moving her belongings into Miss Harrison’s home in Blackpool so her family wouldn’t notice.

After Miss Ditta moved out and left a note for her relatives, she agreed to meet them one last time to say goodbye.

But once she had left, she was sent a text by her brother, Tasawar, which said: ‘I am dead to you.’

One of her sisters, Ghazala, added: ‘Selfish, stupid bitch. Just wait till I get hold of you.’

Later, the relatives went to Miss Harrison’s workplace and asked her colleagues where she parked her car. They waited in several places outside the shopping centre before the attack on June 20 last year.

She was dragged by the hair and managed to prevent herself from being bundled into the car by holding on to its sides. The group eventually drove away.

At Preston crown court, five of Miss Ditta’s sisters and her brother were jailed for between three and six years. All of them are banned from contacting the couple.

Judge Graham Knowles QC said: ‘This is a case about striking terror and attempting to control not just the body but the will. This was a group ambush and you struck with the terror that all of you intended.’